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Hello from Wonder Media Network.

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I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Encyclopedia

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Wamanica in honor of the New

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Year and New decade this month

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recovering leaders from throughout history.

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Today we're talking about a woman who was a key

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figure of the Indian rebellion of eighteen

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fifty seven against British rule. She

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was the queen of Johnci, a state

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in North India. Meet Lakshmibai

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Mani Karnica Tambay, nicknamed

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Manu, was born on November nineteenth,

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eighteen twenty eight, in a town called

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Varanasi. Her family

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was part of the upper class Brahman caste.

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Manu's mother died when Manu was four

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years old. Her father worked

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for the Peshwa, basically the prime minister

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of the Bethur district. Manu

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was a playful and independent child. She

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was educated at home and learned how

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to shoot, ride horses, fence and

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more. In May eighteen

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forty two, Manu married the Maharajah

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of Johns. From

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that point on she was called Lakshmi

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Bay. The name was in honor of the Hindu

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goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity,

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good fortune and beauty. Lakshmi

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Bay and the Maharajah had a son in eighteen

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fifty one, but he died just four

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months later. The Maharajah

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then adopted a son. During

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the adoption, the Maharajah wrote

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a letter to the British political officer of the

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region with instructions that the child

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was to be well treated and that the region

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of Johns was to be ruled by Lakshmi

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Bay for the rest of her lifetime. But

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when the Maharajah died in eighteen fifty

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three, his wishes weren't respected.

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The British East India Company annexed

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the region. When Lakshmi

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Bay heard what they were doing, she said,

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I shall not surrender my Johnsi. But

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in March eighteen fifty four, about

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five months after her husband's death, Lakshmi

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Bay was kicked out of the palace and given an

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annual pension of sixty thousand rupees.

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Three years later, on May tenth, eighteen

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fifty seven, a widespread revolt

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against British colonial rule began in

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India. The skirmish was later called

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by many names, including the Indian Rebellion.

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The first War of Independence and the Indian

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Mutiny. In June of eighteen

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fifty seven, a group of Indian

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rebels took over the star Fort of John

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c, a key building that held both

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treasure and arms. The British

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surrendered to the Indian fighters with

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the promise that they wouldn't be harmed, but

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that promise wasn't kept. The

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rebels killed around fifty British officers

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and their families. Lakshmi

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Bay's involvement in the Star Force massacre

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is debated. The rebels also threatened

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to blow up the palace where Lakshmi Bay lived,

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but she gave them a sizeable sum of money not

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to do so, and they left four days after

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the massacre. In the aftermath,

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Lakshmi Bay took over rule of the region.

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She wrote to the British to tell them of her plans

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and was approved to rule until a new British

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superintendent could arrive. But

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others caught wind of the power vacuum and

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tried to invade Johnsy. Lakshury

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Buy's troops beat back those of her husband's

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nephew, who also claimed the throne.

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When another group attempted to usurp lakshmy

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By, she asked the British for help.

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They didn't respond because by this

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point they'd come to believe that lakshmy

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By herself was responsible for the star

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Fort massacre that had resulted in

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the deaths of British officers and their families

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all alone. Lashury Buy's troops

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defended the fort and beat the challengers back.

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From August eighteen fifty seven to

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January eighteen fifty eight, lasury

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By rule john Cy peacefully.

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In theory she was holding the city

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for the British, but the British

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never came to help or to take over. Their

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tardiness strengthened the arguments of certain

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factions of lakshmy By's followers who

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wanted full independence from the colonizers.

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When the British finally did return, lakshby

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Buy's intentions were no longer to give

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over so easily. When

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a British commander demanded the surrender

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of the city, lakshby Bay responded

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with a proclamation saying, we

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fight for independence. In the

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words of Lord Krishna. We will,

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if we are victorious, enjoy the fruits of

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victory. If defeated and killed

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on the field of battle, we shall surely

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earn eternal glory and salvation. The

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British put Johnsy under siege.

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Lakshby Bye sent word to a childhood friend

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for help and more troops. Her friend,

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Tatya Tope, pulled through

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but got locked in battle with the British.

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On April third, eighteen fifty eight,

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the British attack Johnsy once more, and

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succeeded by taking advantage of breaches in

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the city's defenses. The fighting

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was brutal, as the British fought through swaths

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of determined loyalists throughout the city. When

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it became clear that the city had fallen, lakshmy

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By escaped with her adopted son to

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meet up with other rebel horses. La

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By continued to fight the British as a rebel leader,

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and eventually died in battle in eighteen fifty

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eight. There are multiple accounts of

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her death. In one version

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of the story, she donned a uniform,

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was wounded by a British soldier, and then

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shot him on her deathbed. In another,

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she was severely wounded and asked the bystander

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to burn her body rather than be captured by

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the British.

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Twenty years after her death. In

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the History of the Indian Mutiny, Volume

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three, British Colonel Mallison

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wrote, whatever her faults

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in British eyes may have been, her

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countrymen will forever remember that she was

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driven by ill treatment into rebellion,

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and that she lived and died for her country.

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We cannot forget her contribution for India.

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Tune in tomorrow for the story of another leader.

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This week of Encyclopedia Manica

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That's the Great Coursesplus dot com

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Thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister

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and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow

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tho